Stars and Stripes – American Flag Cake

Here’s a little bit of a flashback to July this year when I baked this stars and stripes themed American flag cake. It’s very similar to the flag cake I baked last year, only this time I wanted to include all 50 stars and 13 bars, so if it looks unusually tall, that’s because it was. I also have a flag cake tutorial in a later post that has a recipe and detailed instructions on how to assemble this type of flag cake.

Typically that week in July is very hot and humid, and this year was no different. The cake was the same recipe I used in my Retro Vanilla Cake, but I had to multiply it by 4 to get the look I wanted. Frosting was the same recipe I used in my Ruffle Cupcakes, and, if I recall correctly, I must have tripled it.

The stars and stripes were made out of marshmallow fondant, which is pretty easy to make and could be made way ahead of time. I used Americolor gel-based colors to tint both the cake layers and the fondant. Whole Foods sells food colors for baking made from natural ingredients, and I like those too, but if you’re going for intense colors, Americolor is good and so is Wilton. Although Wilton is not as convenient since you have to dip several toothpicks in the dye to get the right intensity, whereas Americolor tints come in a small squeeze bottle which helps a lot since you could just squeeze as little or as much as you need directly into your batter without having to go back and forth with several toothpicks.

It’s always fun making this type of flag cake, I’ll probably make it again next year unless I decide to try something else.

The heat index was over 100 F.

Marshmallow Fondant

Ingredients:

16 ounces white marshmallows

2 tablespoons water

8 cups (2 pounds) powdered sugar (approximate)

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Vegetable shortening (Crisco)

Directions:

Place the marshmallows and water in a large microwaveable bowl. Heat on full power for 30 seconds then stir with a rubber spatula.

Repeat heating and stirring for 30 seconds until the marshmallows are melted, about 2 minutes total

Remove the bowl from the microwave and stir in vanilla

Add about 4 cups powdered sugar and stir the mixture with a well-greased spoon until thoroughly combined.

Add 3 cups of the powdered sugar to the marshmallows and stir until well blended. At this point, the mixture will start to look like dough.

Turn out the marshmallow dough onto a greased work surface. Grease your hands well with Crisco before kneading the fondant. Keep adding a little powdered sugar a tablespoon at a time until it is nice and smooth.

If you feel the fondant is too dry, knead in a small amount of shortening

The fondant is done once it feels pliable and smooth.

Shape the fondant into a flat disc and rub a thin coating of shortening over the entire surface to prevent it from drying out.

Wrap the fondant in plastic wrap and store in a plastic bag or air tight container and store at room temperature overnight.

Fondant can be stored up to 2 months at room temperature if it is wrapped tightly

When ready to use, roll the fondant with a rolling pin on a smooth countertop that has been dusted with powdered sugar or cornstarch.

When rolling the fondant, be sure to lift and turn the fondant frequently to make sure it is not sticking to the surface.

Don’t flip the fondant over once you start rolling.

Roll the fondant in a circle and cut out desired shapes with a sharp knife.

Hi Dee, the blue layers are stacked on top of the 6 alternating red and white layers at the bottom. Place a blue layer first on top of the 6, then fit either a red or white piece. Just repeat that until you get a total of 7 layers on top of the 6 below it. You can find demo pictures in my Flag Cake Tutorial post.

OMG! I LOVE your blog, this cake is amazing. I pinned it and shared it on facebook. New follower all the way.
I would love for you to come link up something at my party, Tuesday Trivia at http //www.memoriesbythemile com/
Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile

I don’t understand about the stars- do you put them on after the cake is sliced or are they inside? I really want to try this for a 4th of July Party I am going to. thaks. Can you tell me how much time it may take?

Hi Aimee, I added the stars just for fun, after I sliced the cake. You certainly don’t have to do that. Making 13 layers for all the stripes of the flag is rather time consuming, but I will include a tutorial in my next post to explain how to make a shorter cake with fewer stripes so it doesn’t take too much time.